Non-Metallic Cable Armor Joint for Mechanical Continuity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for joining non-metallic tensile elements in submarine and umbilical cables lack mechanical continuity, process speed, and environmental resistance, making it difficult to achieve suitable jointing of these elements.
Innovation Solution
A joint design featuring sockets with inner through bores that translationally and rotationally lock bonding material, allowing relative rotation around a specific axis, ensuring secure connection and minimal lay loss, using a bonding material like thermoset resin and an interconnecting device that prevents torsional movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If non-metallic tensile elements are used to decrease cable weight, then the cable can be deployed in very deep water, but the jointing of these elements becomes more difficult in terms of mechanical continuity, dimensions, process speed and environmental resistance
Solution Approach 1:
A bonding material acts as an intermediary substance that chemically bonds to both non-metallic tensile elements, creating a strong mechanical connection. The bonding material fills the interface between joined elements and cures to form a rigid bond, solving the difficulty of joining non-metallic materials while maintaining mechanical continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint assembly combines multiple materials with different properties: non-metallic tensile elements (fiber-reinforced plastic), bonding material (epoxy or polyurethane resin), and metallic reinforcement elements (stainless steel wires or bars). This composite structure leverages the tensile strength of fibers, the adhesive properties of bonding material, and the structural rigidity of metal reinforcement to achieve superior joint performance.
2Stability of the object's composition
If armor elements are joined during cable manufacturing, then continuous armor coverage is achieved, but the process speed and mechanical continuity of non-metallic elements are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The bonding material is applied to the armor elements before the actual joining operation, and the elements are pre-positioned in the joint assembly. This preliminary preparation allows the bonding material to begin curing while other manufacturing operations continue, reducing overall process time while ensuring proper alignment and bonding surface preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bonding material undergoes a parameter change from liquid or semi-liquid state to solid cured state, transforming from an easy-to-apply material to a strong structural bond. This phase transition enables the material to flow into gaps and bond surfaces during application, then harden to provide mechanical continuity, achieving both fast processing and strong bonding.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a joint design allows relative rotation between sockets, then flexibility in radial direction is achieved, but torsional movement control is needed to maintain cable stability
Solution Approach 1:
The joint assembly incorporates dynamic characteristics by allowing controlled relative rotation between sockets through the bonding material's viscoelastic properties. The bonding material provides both flexibility for radial movement and damping for torsional movements, adapting to operational conditions while maintaining cable integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the joint assembly have different mechanical properties: the bonding material provides flexibility and damping, while metallic reinforcement elements provide rigidity and torsional control. This local differentiation of material properties allows the joint to exhibit both radial flexibility and torsional stability as needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a quick and efficient method for connecting non-metallic tensile elements with enhanced mechanical continuity and integrity, reducing lay loss and maintaining cable stability, while being flexible in the radial direction and rigid in the longitudinal direction.
Implementation Method 1
the first and second non-metallic tensile elements having an end portion being housed in the inner through bore of respectively the first and second socket by the proximal aperture and secured therein by a bonding material
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a cable comprising a cable core and an armor, the armor being formed by a plurality of consecutive sections of non-metallic tensile elements wound around the cable core, each section including a first non-metallic tensile element connected to a second non-metallic tensile element of the consecutive sections by a joint comprising a first socket and a second socket, each of said sockets comprising a flat body extending longitudinally along a longitudinal axis (S) between a proximal end and a distal end and comprising an inner through bore between a proximal aperture at the proximal end and a distal aperture at the distal end, the first and second non-metallic tensile elements having an end portion being housed in the inner through bore of respectively the first and second socket by the proximal aperture and secured therein by a bonding material, and each inner through bore being shaped to translationally and rotationally lock the bonding material; an interconnecting device translationally and rotationally locked in the distal apertures of the first and the second sockets and allowing the sockets to relatively rotate exclusively around at least one rotation axis (R) perpendicular to a plane where the socket body longitudinal axes (S) of the first and the second sockets lie.